Pulling device.



R. N. EGGLESTON.

PULLING DEVICE.

APPUCATION FILED APR. 3. I917.

Patenmfl 19m.- 4

ROBERT N. EGGLESTON', OF ST. LOUIS, MISEOUBI, AFJSIGNOR T0 MULTTPULLMANUFAG- TUBING COMPANY, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, A GORPOBATION OFMISSOURI.

IULLING DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. d, 191W.

Application filed. April 3, 1917. Serial No. 159,436.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that T, ROBERT N. EeGLns'roN, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at St. Louis, Missouri, have invented a certain new anduseful Improvement in Pulling Devices, of which the following is a full,clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to devices of the character that are used forexerting a pull on a rope, chain, cable or other flexible memberconnected to an object which it is desired to move.

The main object of the invention is to provide an inexpensive pullingdevice of the character referred to that is compact, easy to operate andeasy to install or set up.

Another object is to provide a pulling de vice of the character referredto which is so constructed that a number of persons can be used tooperate it.

And still another object is to provide a pulling device which isconstructed principally from material that can usually be bought in theopen market in any desired quantities, such, for example, as metal pipe,pipe fittings and bar iron.

Briefly described, my improved pulling device consists of avertically-disposed winding shaft, a rope, chain, cable or otherflexible member that leads from the object to be moved to the windingshaft, a collapsible frame provided with hearings in which said shaftturns, means foranchoring said frame to the ground and a device forturning the winding shaft so as to wind the flexible pulling member ontosame.

Fi ure 1 of the drawin s is a aers ectiveb it:

view, illustrating a pulling device constructed in accordance with myinvention used for extracting an automobile from the mud.

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of said device.

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of said device.

Fig. 4 is a front elevational View, showing the supporting frame for thewinding shaft collapsed.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view, taken on the line 55 ofFig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a detail view, illustrating a piece of rope provided with adevice f slightly dierent form from that shown in Fig. 2

for connecting the rope to the winding shaft; and

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a spade or shovel that can be used insandy soil in place of the ground. anchors shown in Fig. 1 for anchoringthe pulling device to the ground.

Referring to the drawings which illustrate the preferred form of myinvention, A designates the winding shaft of the device which isrotatably mounted in two bearings 1 and 2 of a collapsible frame that isconstructed in such a manner that it can be folded up compactly, asshown in Fig. 4, when the device is not in use and opened or unfolded,as shown in Fig. 2, when the device is in use. The device comprises aflexible pulling member B, such, for example, as a rope, chain or cablethat leads from the object to be moved, herein shown as an automobileas, to the winding shaft A, and means is provided for anchoring thewinding shaft frame to the ground, so as to prevent it from moving whenthe shaft A is being turned to wind the flexible member B onto same. Anysuitable means may be used for anchoring the winding shaft frame to theground, but I prefer to use a flexible anchoring member C which mayconsist of a chain, rope or cable secured to the lower end portion ofthe winding shaft frame and one or more ground stakes D for anchoringthe member C to the ground. A flexible brace C, which may consist of apiece of chain, rope or cable,'is connected to the upper end portion ofthe winding shaft frame and to the flexible anchoring member C,preferably at a point slightly in advance of the first ground stake, asshown. in Fig. 1, so as to assist in holding the winding shaft frame inan upright position when the device is in use. The winding shaft framecan be formed in various ways without departing from the spirit of myinvention, but I prefer to form said frame from a top member 3 and abottom member 4 that are joined together by two pairs of links 5 and 6which are so proportioned and arranged that when the winding shaft frameis open, as shown in Fig. 2, the links 5 will project laterally from thebottom member4 of the frame, and thus form a relatively wide baseportion, and the links 6 will be inclined upwardly and inwardly from theends of said base portion which the links 5 and 6 are pivotallyconnected by pivots 9. The bottom member 1 of. the winding shaft frameis mounted on said winding shaft in such a manner. that it can be movedupwardly longitudinally of .Same, thus permitting the links 5 and 6 tobe folded or arranged in a position substantially parallel to thewinding shaft when the device is not in use. When the winding shaftframe is unfolded or in its open position, as shown in Fig. 2, a flangedor flared portion 10 at the lower end of the winding shaft, shown moreclearly in Fig; 4, bears against the bottom bearing 2 on the windingshaft frame in such a manner that said shaft cannot move upwardly.-

The winding shaft A is provided at its upper end with a head portion 11in which a device 12 can be inserted so as to form a. lever or handlefor turning the winding shaft. The head portion 11. is preferably formedfrom a T-shaped pipe fitting screwed onto the upper end portion of thewinding shaft and having two internally threaded openings into whichhandles or levers 12 and 12 can be inserted, as shown in Fig. 2, in caseit is desired to employ more than one person to operate the device.

In using the device the end of the flexible pulling member B ispreferably secured to the winding shaft A in such a manner that saidpulling member will not slip when the winding shaft is turned. Oneconvenient Way of securely connecting the pulling member to the windingshaft is to provide said pulling member with a pin 13, as shown in Fig.2, that can be inserted in a hole 1% in the winding shaft, said pineither being arranged transversely in the flexible pulling member A, asshown in Fig. 6, or having a' portion or portions 13 that surround saidpulling member, as shown inFig. 2. After the pulling member 13 has beenconnected to the winding shaft, said shaft is turned so as to cause thepulling member B to be wound onto same, and after the object being movedhas moved the desired distance, the winding shaft A is locked againstmovement in the reverse direction by means of a hookshaped lockingdevice 15 that is arranged in engagement with the handle 12 and with thepulling member B, as shown in Fig. 1. The flexible anchoring member Cand brace C prevent the winding shaft frame fromtilting forwardly ortoward the object being moved when the winding shaft is being op.-

erated to wind the pulling member ll onto same, and the relatively widebase portion of said frame, which rests upon the ground, prevents theframe from tilting sidewise in. either direction. The top side of thebottom member 1 of the winding shaft frame and the bottom side of thetop member 3 of said frame are preferably made slightly convex, as shownin Fig. 2, so as to cause thellexible pulling member B to wind evenlyonto the shaft A.

My improved device can be used in vari ous ways and for variouspurposes, but it is intended to be used princi 'ially by automobilistsfor extracting an automobile that is mired in the mud or in sandy soil.Therefore, in selling the device I furnish with same a spade or shovel Dof the kind shown in Fig. 7 that can be used'in sandy soil in place ofthe stakes D to anchor the flexible member 0 to the ground. The handleof said spade is formed from two pieces of pipe or tubing 12 and 12 thatare connected together by a coupling 12", and the blade of said spade isprovided with a hook or ring 12 to whichthe flexible anchoring member Ccan be connected. By constructing the spade in this manner the handle ofsame can be used as a lever to turn the winding shaft A, thus reducingthe cost of the complete apparatus and permitting it to be stored awayin a small space. When the spade I) is used to anchor the member C, thehandle is connected to the blade of the spade and the spade is then usedto dig a hole in the ground. The handle is then disconnected from theblade, the blade then arranged in the bottom of the hole, and after theflexible member C has been connected to the ring or hook 12 on theblade, the hole is filled up by scraping the dirt back into same. Thewinding shaft frame is then unfolded and arranged in an uprightposition, and. after the flexible members C and C have been connected tothe frame and the pulling member B has been connected to the windingshaft, the handle of the spade is screwed into the head portion 11 atthe upper end of the winding shaft so as to forma handle or lever bywhica said winding shaft can be turned in the manner previouslydescribed. lVhile I prefer to connect one end of the pulling member B tothe winding shaft by means-of a. pin on the pulling member that isinserted in a hole in the winding shaft, ity is not essential that thepulling member be pinned or connected to the winding shaft in thismanner, for if desired, the pulling mem ber can be looped around thewinding shaft in such a. way that the end of same is left free.lVhenever a long rope or cable is used as the pulling member it iswrapped around the winding shaft in this manner, the free end portion ofthe rope being taken up as the portion of the rope between the windingshaft and the object being moved is wound onto the shaft.

A winding device of the character above described can be manufactured ata low cost on account of its simple construction, as it consists merelyof a collapsible frame, a shaft journaled in hearings in said frame andflexible members for anchoring the frame to the ground and forconnecting the winding shaft with the object to be moved. When thedevice is not in use it can be stored in a small space, and when it isin use the winding shaft frameof same is prevented from tilting eitherforwardly or sidewise by the inclined brace C and by the relatively widebase portion of the frame. Most of the parts of the device, such, forexample, as the winding shaft, the head portion of same, the handle orlever by which the winding shaft is turned and the links 5 and 6 of thewinding shaft frame are formed from material that can be purchased inlarge quantities in the open market at any time, the only parts of thedevice that require special material being the top and bottom members ofthe winding shaft frame, each of which consists of a casting of simpledesign. Consequently, the device can be manufactured cheaply andsuitable material is always available for the manufacture of the device.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is:

1. A pulling device, comprising a winding shaft that is adapted to beturned so as to wind a flexible pulling member onto same, a framecomprisin a top bearing and a bottom bearing in which said shaft isjournaled, and a collapsible means for connecting said bearingstogether, said means being so constructed that the bottom bearing willmove longitudinally of said shaft when said means is collapsed.

2. A pulling device, comprisinga winding shaft onto which a flexiblepulling member is adapted to be Wound, a supporting frame for said shaftcomprising a top member and a bottom member, and links pivotallyconnected to said members in such a manner that they can be arranged insuch a position that some of said links form a relatively wide basesupporting portion and the remaining links form inclined elements thatconnect said base supporting portion to said top member. 7

3. A pulling device, comprisingawinding shaft onto which a flexiblepulling member is adapted to be wound, a supporting frame for said shaftformed by a top and a bottom member in which said shaft is journaled,and a plurality of links pivotally connected to each of said members insuch a manner that they can be collapsed so as to arrange said links insubstantially parallel relation to said shaft and also force said bottommember upwardly toward said top member.

4. A pulling device, comprisingawinding shaft onto which a flexiblepulling member is adapted to be wound, a supporting frame for said shaftprovided with top and bottom members provided with bearings in whichsaid shaft is journaled, a base portion pivotally connected to saidbottom member, and inclined elements pivotally connected to said baseportion and to said top member.

5. A pulling device, comprising a winding shaft onto which a flexiblepulling member is adapted to be wound, a supporting frame provided withbearings for said shaft, one of which can move longitudinally of saidshaft, a collapsible connecting means for said bearings, and a headportion on said winding shaft to which a lever or handle can bedetachably connected.

6. A pulling device, comprising a winding shaft onto which a pullingmember is adapted to be wound, a frame com rising a top member and abottom mem er provided with bearings in which said shaft turns, deviceson the rear sides of said members to which a combined anchoring andbracing means can be connected, and pairs of links pivotally connectedtogether and also joined to said top and bottom members in such a mannerthat they can be arranged in a position substantially parallel to saidwinding shaft when the device is not in use.

7. A pulling device, comprisingawinding shaft onto which a flexiblepulling member is adapted to be wound, a collapsible frame comprisingtop and bottom members provided with integral bearings in which saidshaft turns, integral lugs on said bearings that project laterally fromsame, and two pairs of links pivotally connected together and alsopivotally connected at their free ends to said lugs.

ROBERT N. EGGLESTUN.

Gopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. (3.

